Raise driving apparatus



April 16, 1963 K. s. JOHANS'SON ETAL 3,085,794

RAISE DRIVING APPARATUS Filed May 9, 1960 United States Patent 3,085,794 RAISE DRIVING APPARATUS Karl Sixten Johansson, Hedemora, and Bo Gustav Rapp,

Garpenberg, Sweden, assignors to Bolidens Gruvaltticbolag, Skellcftehamn, Sweden, a joint-stock company limited of Sweden Filed May 9, 1960, Ser. No. 27,668 Claims priority, application Sweden July 17, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 262-) The present invention relates to apparatus for the excavation of a raise.

According to known methods in connection with raise driving, it is the usual practice to drill a rope hole having a small diameter from the top surface of a rock formation in a direction towards and down to an underlying drift or gallery in the rock. A Winch and a motor are thereafter placed upon said top surface of the rock in the vicinity of the rope hole and a hoist rope is lowered through said hole down into the gallery in the rock, the rope being attached to the top of a hoist cage.

The hoist cage is mounted in a guide system which has either the form of a scafiold resting on the floor of said gallery in the rock or constituted of guides which are attached to the walls of the raise as said raise is excavated. Attached to the bottom of said hoist cage are telephone cables which may be connected to a cable system in the mine which system has a length which may amount to several kilometers or at least several hundred meters. The elevator is operated by a winch operator who is stationed at said winch on the top surface of the rock. The operation is directed by the men in the hoist cage by telephone contact with the winch operator.

This method is particularly troublesome in practice and furthermore dangerous to the men in the hoist cage. Thus, a telephone order may easily be misunderstood resulting in an operation of the hoist cage in a way involving direct danger for the men in the hoist cage. For instance, the hoist cage may be raised by mistake against the head back of the raise causing the rope to be broken and the hoist cage to fall.

Furthermore, it is frequently desired to move the hoist cage only short distances in order to reach a better working position for the drilling. Such a displacement is best estimated by the men in the hoist cage and it is diflicult to inform the winch operator in a clear way exactly how to carry out the desired movement of the hoist cage by telephone order.

In order to avoid long telephone cables in certain cases, a telephone cable is lowered in parallel with the bearing rope of the hoist cage through the rope hole. However, the telephone cable is rapidly damaged thereby cutting off the connection between the men in the hoist cage and the winch operator. The methods suggested are therefore objectionable and in general unusable.

In view of the desire to allow the men in the hoist cage to operate the cage directly therefrom, it is known to lower electric cables through said rope hole. However, similarly to the telephone cable these electric cables are torn giving rise to flash-over in the hoist construction. Electric means are furthermore frequently hazardous in mines where explosive gases occur since said gases may be ignited giving rise to explosion. Accordingly, it would not be suitable to place an electric motor in the hoist cage proper and to supply power via cables through the associated rope hole.

Furthermore, great difiiculties arise in guiding a hoist cage from the sides thereof so that it can be relatively fixed at the working level to which it has been raised. The above method of guiding, which was hitherto adopted involves expensive and time-consuming labor and in addition requires a larger diameter of the raise in order to provide space for scaffolds or guides. Considerable surplus quantities of the rock have to be blown away in this method in order to provide said space and this contributes to increased costs.

According to another method, suitable shoulders were drilled in the walls of the raise onto which shoulders the hoist cage is brought to rest during the work. However, this also involves considerable additional cost and waste of time.

The above discussion may serve as an elucidation of the several problems hitherto met with in raise driving and, as is evident, said problems are of a difiicult character.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide for ellicient evacuation of a raise in rock formations.

A further object of the invention is to eliminate the risk of accidents in working in raises.

A still further object of the invention is to provide for a hoisting technique which will permit direct operation.

A still further object of the invention is to avoid the use of signal means and electric lines and motors in the raise being worked.

A still further object of the invention is to avoid the use of scafiolds and guides for hoist cages.

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for driving raises with minimum diameters.

A still further object of the inventionis to provide apparatus for driving raises more economically than heretofore.

Further objects and features of the invention will be evident from the following description of a specific embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a raise under construction and a raise hoist on its way upwards.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the same raise showing the hoist cage raised into working position.

In the drawing 1 designates a rock formation, 2 a horizontal gallery or chamber in the rock and 3 a raise in the course of being excavated.

For the purpose of illustration of one application of the invention, construction begins from a range of the head back of the gallery 2 indicated by a dotted line 4- through which the raise is to be driven upwardly. From the top surface 5 of the rock 1 and in a downward direction in the rock, a rope hole 6 having a relatively small diameter is drilled. The drilling may be effected by means of a percussion drilling machine, diamond drilling machine, rope drilling machine or the like. The drilling is completed only after the actual zone 4 has been broken through towards the gallery 2. The drilling tools are then removed and a hoist rope is lowered in the rope hole 6. The rope guided by a guide means 8 is introduced into a raise hoist cage 9 in the gallery 2. The raise hoist cage may rest upon a truck 10 or may itself be provided with supporting wheels (not shown). The end of the rope in the hoist cage in accordance with the invention is attached to a motor driven winch M (see FIG. 2) placed in the hoist cage which winch is driven by an air or pressure fluid operated motor also placed in the cage and connected through an air duct 11 to the compressed air system conventionally employed in the mine. Furthermore, the cage is connected by line 12 with a source of water.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a partially excavated raise with the hoist cage 9 on its way upwards for continued working in the top of said raise. It should be noted that either of the two miners 13 present in the cage may operate the hoist in the raise directly from means C in said cage without giving telephone orders to a winch operator at the top of the rock.

Thus, one man is spared. Furthermore, the movements of the cage can now easily be controlled directly from said hoist cage which provides various advantages as compared with prior art.

It may also be noted that the rope 7 at the top surface of the rock in connection with the rope hole 6 runs over a stationary pulley 14 and that the rope may be wound up by means of a winding drum 15 provided with a crank and with a ratchet wheel means.

In FIGURE 2 the raise hoist cage 9 is shown raised to a working position several meters from the temporary head back 20 of the raise 3. Before commencing work, the air motor is stopped whereafter adjustable lateral supporting members 16 of the hoist cage are brought into contact with the walls of the rock preventing the cage from swinging in an uncontrollable way laterally. Furthermore, anchoring pins are hammered into the rock wall so as to form supporting means for flexible members or chains 18 attached to the cage. The hoist cage is thereby suspended by said chains whereafter the drilling and preparations for blasting may commence from the top 19 of the cage, onto which the miners pass through a suitable door in the hoist cage.

After finishing the scaling, drilling and charging, the chains 18 are removed and the lateral supports 16 retracted, whereafter the men lower the hoist into the gallery onto the waiting carriage 10 and remove it.

The rope 7 is now disconnected from the winch in the cage and one of the men winds the rope up by winch 15 untilit is in a blast-sure position in the rope hole 6, commonly about 20 meters from the top 20 of the raise. After this the other of the two men carries out the blasting and the fallen rocks are transported away in the gallery in a suitable manner.

Usually this work will consume an entire working shift and both miners are consequently commonly relieved thereafter by a new gang which will raise themselves to working position in the raise, hereby repeating the procedure.

It should also be mentioned that the cage normally contains connections for air and waterto the working tools used and it is readily appreciated that practical advantages are gained by using the same source of power for the hoist as for the tools.

According to the invention therefore a non-hazardous .4 method is obtained in raise excavation on one hand due to the direct operation of the hoist and on the other hand due to the use of an air motor. Furthermore, problems in connection with telephonecables which would have to be kept in repair are avoided.

More rapid and more exact operations are possible due to the direct operation from the cage. The costs of manufacture and installation of hoists are considerably lower than with known constructions and maintenance is also simplified. The hoist cage may also be made lighter than heretofore.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and described but may be varied in various ways within the scope of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for excavating a raise into which opens a bore, said apparatus comprising a hoist cage adapted for being raised and lowered in said raise, a line, means retractably suspending said line in said bore with the line extending into said raise, a pressure-fluid operated motor in said cage detachably coupled to said line and adapted for winding in and letting out said line to elevate and lower said cage, means supplying a pressure fiuid to said motor, control means in said cage for controlling said motor, flexible members on said cage and adapted for connection in said raise to secure said cage in a working position, and means extensible from said cage to position the cage within said raise.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a platform on top of said cage and constituting a shield for men in said cage and a working area for said men with the cage in said working position.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 comprising means for displacing said cage laterally away from the raise with the cage detached from said line.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 500,017 Long June 20, 1893 959,778 Melander May 31, 1910 FOREIGN PATENTS 147,321 Germany Jan. 4, 1904 

1. APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING A RAISE INTO WHICH OPENS A BORE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOIST CAGE ADAPTED FOR BEING RAISED AND LOWERED IN SAID RAISE, A LINE, MEANS RETRACTABLY SUSPENDING SAID LINE IN SAID BORE WITH THE LINE EXTENDING INTO SAID RAISE, A PRESSURE-FLUID OPERATED MOTOR IN SAID CAGE DETACHABLY COUPLED TO SAID LINE AND ADAPTED FOR WINDING IN AND LETTING OUT SAID LINE TO ELEVATE AND LOWER SAID CAGE, MEANS SUPPLYING A PRESSURE FLUID TO SAID 